Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Today is Devil Kitty's tenth birthday. Well, not really. We do not know when Devil Kitty's actual birthday is. What we do know is that we brought her in from the feral colony on Halloween ten years ago (and by "we," I mean that my wife caught her and brought her into the house). At that point, we had only been in the house for two months--and we had not addressed the existence of the feral colony that secretly came with the house. And we were completely unaware that this cute kitty (who is still the same size today--more or less) was possessed by the evil gene. Happy birthday Devil Kitty! Try not to eat any of the lodge members this coming year.

This beautiful picture is one that I lifted from the Cat Addicts Facebook fanpage. It reminds me of my wife's cat--Anubis, who is thirteen and still lays around anyplace that he wants; he also absolutely loves flowers--bring some flowers into the house and he has to check them out. Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Welcome to this edition of the Tarot Blog Hop--Samhain (Halloween) edition. Those of you who are reading the blog hop, you probably arrived here from Amethyst Mahoney's blog. My regular readers have just wandered in from the dark alley that they learn occult lessons in...because no one from a legimate esoteric tradition ever reads my blog--I have that on the best of authorities.As some of you know, one of the projects that I am doing is creating the rough sketches for a monkey-themed Tarot deck...because one of my friends really likes monkeys. (She likes monkeys so much that she is writing a series of children books starring monkeys, which I will be illustrating in December.)Now when the idea of a monkey-themed Tarot deck came up, I originally said, "No, you cannot create a Tarot deck that has a monkey in every card." The reason that I said this was the simple fact that there were some cards that I had no clue how you would draw them to be able to make the central figure a monkey.One of the cards that I could not imagine doing with a monkey was the Major Arcana card of the Devil. Then one morning, I woke up and knew exactly how to draw it. And the idea behind the artwork made perfect sense to me.The artwork for the Devil card of the Monkey Tarot shows a monkey with its paw caught in a Bottle Trap. One of the ways that people capture monkeys is to put tasty food in the bottom of a bottle or jar whose neck is just enourgh for a monkey to stick their empty paw down, but not large enourgh for it to be able to remove once it has a fistful of food inside it. The monkey is trapped simply because it refuses to let go of the food. If it just opened its paw, and let go of the food--it could escape.Ironically, when it comes to human beings, we are often held back by things that we refuse to let go of. For some, it is money; for others, the need to be loved; for some, it is food. In my case, it is a bad set of childhood programing commands. I was raised in a very poor household--the oldest of eight kids. At an early age, I started to be told that it was my duty to sacrifice for the sake of my brothers and sisters. By the age of eight, I knew the bitter truth about Santa Claus. Often I would go hungry, so that siblings could have more food. I got into the habit of taking the blame for joint-mischief.By itself, this would not be bad. But I have allowed this programming to carry forward into my adulthood. I have remained at jobs that I hated...because I was needed. I have sacrificed my goals...because someone else needed the resources more than I did. I spend a lot of my time trying to guess what other people need me to do, making sacrifices for others, while completely ignoring what is best for my own life. And I have grown to resent the fact that I am expected to sacrifice on the behalf of others without any benefit to myself. Occasionally, this resentment is enourgh to prevent me from doing something stupid, but not often. Odds are that I will trash my own life on the behalf of someone else.And at the moment, this particular habit is causing me a world of hurt. It is amazing how much difficulty one has starting their own business when they get into the habit of handing over their operating budget to someone else, instead of spending the money that they need to on their own business needs. It is something that I need to let go of--and I know it. But the monkey part of my brain generally refuses to let go of the habit on most days. As a Tarot reader, I have noticed that a lot of personal demons show up during readings, and often these demons are simply things, habits and ideas that people are unwilling to let go of. Therefore, the idea of illustrating the Devil as a Bottle Trap makes perfect sense to me. And at the moment, I am definitely struggling with my own version of the Devil--a Morgan-shaped bottle trap.Anyways, enourgh about my personal demons. Those of you who are continuing with the Samhain Tarot Blog Hop will now proceed to the blog of Aisling the TarotWitch. My regular readers will do whatever it is that they do...I presume that they worship cats and monkeys--I could be wrong about that one.[Update: July 2013: Due to differences in sales expectations and business philosophy, in early July 2013, I ceased to be involved in the Turtle Monkey project.]

Monday, October 29, 2012

Some people ask me why I do the 31 Days of Halloween Kitties. It started last year when I needed something quick and easy to post; I knew that the semester was going to be rough. There was also the fact that I like love cats, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. And there are just so many wonderful pictures of kitties dressed up in Halloween costumes--many of which just make me say, "Awww." Like this one--doesn't the cute little princess kitty just make you smile? And if not, what is wrong with you?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Ok, while I tend to focus on actual photographs of actual cats dressed in Halloween costumes for the 31 Days of Halloween Kitties, occasionally I do find a piece of artwork that I just must use because I love it so much. And this painting is just such a piece. I have no idea who the artist is--the picture is making the rounds on Facebook--but isn't it awesome?

Saturday, October 27, 2012

The doctor says to give him two bacon-wrapped shrimp and call him in the morning.

Given the sad state of my wallet, I will admit that the closest that I can get to medical care is to dress up one of my cats as a doctor. Or perhaps convince them to give me Reiki (instead of asking for attention when Reiki is being used around them). Of course, in the case of a kitty doctor, an apple will keep them away, along with bananas and assorted fruits and vegatables (my cats can not figure out how I can eat that stuff).

It is not often that I can send you to someone else's blog, so that you can see how a Halloween Kitty costume was made. But this is one of those rare times--the Bloggess, a divinely funny lady, has just posted the instructions on how she made the costume for her kitty. Go read her insanity now!

One of the things about living with cats is that after awhile you start having entire conversations with them. Occasionally, one suspects that you might even be talking about the exact same thing. Other times, well, you know that what the cat tried to tell you has nothing to do with what your imagination told you that the cat has said. But still there are worse habits to have than having conversations with your cat. Drinking, gambling, voting for politicans--even kissing a dog is better than those things.

One of the debates I have had with myself (because no one else wants to play the game) is: What is the proper treat for a cat willing to dress up in a Halloween costume? Tartar control cat treats? Hairball cat treats? Tuna? Shrimp? Dried Salmon? Or as this picture suggests--an cheeseburger? I think that if your loved furbaby is willing to play dress-up with you, then you consider the latter.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Here is a precious little Halloween Kitty, who have obviously been shredding the curtains, sofa and everything else that they could get their little claws in. How do I know that the kitty is guilty? Because all cats are like this--at least until you train them to use the scratching post (and even then carpet is still fair game--why is it covered with carpet if it is not a scratching post?!). As for carving Halloween pumpkins, I am not sure what type of weird designs a cat would do. Maybe pictures of fishes.

Because politics are boring (we all know that you already who to vote for), and because commericals are boring (we all know which two blogs that I am talking about), and because I have some dog lovers in my audience (Security! Security!)--I now present you a picture of a Halloween Dog. Yes, even I look at pictures of dogs dressed up in Halloween costumes--don't tell my cats.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Ok, let's be clear--I know that this cat is confused (I believe that is a naval uniform), Still given the performance at the third Presidental debate, I believe that this cat is more qualified than Mitt Romney is to be commander in chief of the United States.

(Yes, I have political opinions. And I loved the comment made by Obama--"Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy you seem to want the policies of the 1980s, just like you want to import the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies in the 1920s." Why? Because this is how I feel about Romney's positions. The only thing missing is that he is not trying to burn me at the stake.)

Before you ask, I realize that neither candidate is a prize--go vote for whoever you like. Just remember that I have already made up my mind and filled my mail-in ballot, so there is no point in trying to convince me to vote differently.

(And no, it is none of your business who I voted for--just assume that I voted for the party least likely to make my bread and butter ebooks illegal...because I do not want to spend all my time recruiting new Order members to help support my cat's shrimp addiction.)

Just nine more days until Halloween...or as some might like to think about it, nine more days until we go back to generic cat photos.

So what have I been doing in the meantime? I have been working on getting ready for the National Novel Writing Month, recharging my batteries. I have also been thinking about the world which I am going to be writing in, which is kinda like "Harry Potter Meets James Bond." (I know--it is a bad elevator pitch--but have you ever heard a good elevator pitch?) So essentially, I am gearing up for my first quarter campaign as a writer--but I have to get the work done before the year ends. Ahh, the life of a novelist.

Or perhaps the truth is that I have been trying to get one of my cats to come out and wear a silly Halloween hat. My regular readers will know where to place their bets.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

One of the projects that I am slowly working on is a pagan/wiccan friendly children books series called Turtle Monkey. At the moment, I am just doing the occasional thumbnail sketch and working out the background of the world that it is set in. Come December, I will be devoting a lot of time to it as I wait for my Nanowrimo project to cool off enourgh that I can realistically start rewriting and editing it.

Nevertheless, knowing that the project is coming (one of the first three projects to come out of Salt Mine Publications--the ebook "publishing house" that I had to set up...because it was the only way to get my investment back on certain projects), I have done a certain amount of work setting up the initial foundation of our advertising platform.

Which is partially why I ended up doing a photoshot with monkeys dressed up in Halloween costumes. The other reason is that my co-creator (they do the writing; I do the artwork) decided to riff on my 31 Days of Halloween Kitties, and do 31 Days of Halloween Monkeys for the Turtle Monkey Facebook fanpage.

One of the most amusing pictures to come out of the photoshoot was a picture of the green stuffed monkey that was the initial inspiration for appearance of the chacter being held aloft with my lotus wand by the eleven year-old girl who was the inspiration for how the character acts.

In the interests of privacy, I decided to cover up her face with a yellow smiley instead; her mom got to see the original picture...the face was priceless.

Of course, I am sure that there are people who are appalled by this for various reasons: MDE is involved in a children book series...as an artist (and he can't draw); someone was allowed to touch my lotus wand; MDE thinks that monkeys and little girls are funny--take your pick and get in line...because there is always someone upset with me.

[Update: September 25, 2013--In July 2013, I ceased to be involved in the Turtle Monkey project due to differences in creative vision and business philosophy.]

Saturday, October 20, 2012

So is this kitty just naturally a stick in the mud? Or is it merely the fact that their owner decided to dress them up as a panda bear? One can never tell with cats--but I am guessing that it is the latter. Of course, I have on occasion brought "cute" Halloween hats for my cats--hats that my cats refuse to wear. I am not sure that even my most happiest cat will allow such nonsense (but I am attempted to find out if I can get him to wear a hat...because in the two years that I have owned him, I have not tried).

Friday, October 19, 2012

Yesterday, I pointed out a Halloween Kitty that did not need a costume. And today, we have one that might have gone too far. Of course, I am quite sure that their is a human behind this costume. I am not so sure about the pot, but let's blame the human for that one also. It wouldn't be so bad if kitty got a tasty meal out of the ordeal, but you know that he didn't get any tasty lobster either--that is also the fault of the human. Bad, bad human.

I will admit that it amuses me to a certain extent when someone quotes me, or talks about something that I have said, and does not link to the post which they are quoting from. It is even more amusing when they refuse to say my name, and refer to me as "another blogger." Especially, if I had linked to one of their blog posts--gee, I give you link love and you refer to me as just another blogger.

Nine times out of ten, it is because they are taking my statement out of context, and do not want their readers to know what the whole story was. (The tenth time, I presume, is just because my name is also the name of a demonic entity who will cover you with cat hair.)

Hint, it is better to not to mention my statement at all and pretend that it was never said, rather than offer a counterpoint to the statement that you are only using a couple lines from. People notice stuff like this, and it leads them to believe that none of us actually get along. It might also make people think that something is not kosher in Denmark.

And there is where I know that he is not selling to me (outside of the little fact that I have NEVER been a member of his Order)--I do not want to hear the terms "Boot Camp" and "Golden Dawn" in the same label. I am not even sure that I could handle them in the same sentence.

I have nothing against boot camps...well, sort of. I did spend in a boot camp-like setting. It was hard work, and I think that there was a touch of brain washing involved. As a group of people, we did sort of gel into an unit...except for the people who were naturally crooks. (Long story--ends with me standing up to a couple of bullies and me thinking "What's the worst that could happen? They beat the crap out of me? I have suffered worse in the last couple of weeks.")

Oh, let me be clear--it was Army Boot Camp!

I am sorry---having experienced boot camp, I do not want to relive it--ever--in any form--and especially not while trying to study Golden Dawn. Call me a wimp, a wiss, a nancy-boy, whatever--wild horses would not convince me to go to something called Golden Dawn Boot Camp.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Let's be honest--there are a lot of pictures of cats in pumpkins on the internet. And often I have no idea how the cat got in there without help from a human...unless cats really come from pumpkins, and Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns are merely the egg form of a super-occult cat, like say a Secret Chief. Hey, it is better than believing in the Great Pumpkin and a few other things that some occultists and magicians believe in--at least, I have seen proof that the Secret Chiefs (aka cats) exist.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Ok, I have absolutely no idea what this is supposed to represent. And yes, I know that it is not a costume--I think that it is a toy of some sort. But I really like this picture, and considering that I was just watching the Presidental debate on Facebook (and I mean that I was watching the comments about the debate in the newsfeed), I figure that it was as good of a time to post it as any other. Honestly, I have yet to see anything as frightening as this current electional cycle (other than other electional sycles). I vote that we elect a cat in a costume to the office of President; they might not fix the economy, but at least we would be able to smile about something, right?

As a follow up to my last post (today is National Feral Cat Day), I would like to point out that what a indoor cat considers to be hellish behavior on the part of its humans (with a few exceptations) is actually much better than the life that what its feral outside counterparts have to put up with. While my two most recent adoptions may have mixed feelings about me allowing other humans in the house (my wife is ok, she occasionally gives them treats), they have the benefit of many things that the outside cat and ferals do not have. For instance, they have a sofa (well, two actually) to sleep on. I imagine that they are going to spend the entire night of Halloween sleeping on it.

These two cats were actually products of a feral cat litter--hard to tell, isn't it?

Monday, October 15, 2012

Despite, my joking about people putting silly Halloween costumes on their cats, there is something worse that one can do to a cat.

What is worse than dressing up your cat?

Abandoning your cat.

During the housing bubble crisis, dozens of cats were abandoned. Plus every year, cats are abandoned because their owners do not want to get them fixed, and they keep having kittens which they just abandon. These cats end up living horrible lives, one step from disease, stravation and death in feral colonies.

It is a kitty nightmare--a real life horror for our four legged friends.

Today, October 16 is National Feral Cat Day--need I say more?

Your animal needs your love and care their whole lifetime, not just when it is convenient for you.

One of the problems with Halloween is that often you do not get any of the candy that you actually wanted. In other words, no one brought any of your special candy, or somebody ate all of it before you got any (I am looking at two people in particular). It is even worse when you are a cat--there is a general shortage of catnip dipped treats in this world. Is it too much to ask for a simple mouse dipped in catnip?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

The cherry on the top of my bad weekend (long story...let's just say that one imagines that it will make someone happy...because me being a writer has to make someone upset) is the fact that Blogger is currently having an issue where the pagestats are all or mostly gone.

So as of this moment, if you believe the Blogger stats, this blog has only recieved a whole seventeen readers in its entire existence. I imagine that warms the cockels of someone's heart. Of course, if you think that you have read this blog more than seventeen times...well, you need to check yourself in for a mental health visit.

For my fellow and lady bloggers out there, Blogger is working ot fix the problem. They are making some progress--an hour ago, none of my blogs had any pageviews.

A screenshot of the message posted on the Known Issues page for Blogger.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Ok, this is not exactly a Halloween costume, but it was too cute not to use. So exactly where does one obtain a Kitty's Choice Albacore Tuna plush bed, and are they willing to cut me a group discount? (Bear in mind--my wallet is still recovering...at a snail's pace...from several years at college.) I imagine that in my household, there would be a lot of fighting over which cat got to sleep in the cushy can shaped cat bed.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Another Halloween costume that you see a lot of cats wearing is the standard witch costume. Now, I am not sure where people get the idea that putting a pointy hat, not alone a purple decorated with a spider hat, on a cat makes it a witchy cat. I mean I have seen none of my cats wearing pointed hats, and they are all witchy cats. My proof? The number of times I find my magical tools moved around, and paw prints leaving a trail away from the raided herb cabinet.

Here is another Halloween Kitty dressed up as a pumpkin; but in this case, Kitty has a plan. You can tell by the look on this cat's face that it is waiting to abush something. A mouse? A squirrel? Or is it the Great Pumpkin itself? Or maybe delusional cartoon characters who believe in the Great Pumpkin? Whatever it is, it is going to find a meowy surprise in this pumpkin patch.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

One of the Halloween costumes that seem to be a constant are the Halloween Pumpkin costumes. I guess it makes sense--pumpkins are the Official Fruit of Halloween (tm). I have tried growing pumpkins in my yard, and the outdoor cat allows the squirrels to eat them...so I am guessing that he might be willing to wear a pumpkin costume--NOT!

One of the things about Halloween is treats--typically orange treats. Unless you are a cat, then you do not want orange treats. I am not really sure about what is on the plate in this picture--I think it is orange jelly on bread...but I can't be sure. The cat in the picture does not look sure about it either.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Ok, let's me admit to my not-so-secret life as a geek and/or nerd (I am never sure where the line is between those two)--I just love this particular Halloween cat costume idea. When I was growing up, Nick Fury was a white guy chomping on a cigar. Then he became a awesome black guy in the recent movies (hey, I think the Nick Fury of the current round of movies is awesome!)--one that we need to see a whole movie centered around. So how can you improve Nick Fury? I didn't think that you could. I was wrong. Pissed off black kitty is the ultimate Nick Fury--just give him a catnip cigar and he is good to glare at you.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Today, I recieved one of those emails that makes one firmly believe that some people do not understand the Bill of Rights. Basically, I had someone complain because earlier this year, I choose not to promote their stuff. They are now up to the scream that says that I am denying them their right to free speech.

Let's be clear. The only person who has the right of free speech on a blog is the blogger(s) themselves. Everyone else is free to set up their own blog, fanpage, or website, publish their own ebooks and printed material. You have the freedom of speech (provided that you are not advocating crime) to say wherever you want on your own platform.

And me refusing to advertise your stuff is not denying you free speech. Let's be clear--you and I are rivals (more or less). You would refuse to advertise my events on your platform because it is not in your best interests to do so. I am merely making the same decision. You have your own platform to get the word out--use it. Quit trying to subvert my platform for your own purposes.

Have a nice day.

(For the record, there are some things that I do have to advertise--my wife's pottery is one of them. But let's be clear about the difference--her success affects me...in a positive way. On that note, my wife has recently put up a brown [rust colored] mortar and pestle on her Etsy site.)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Sometimes, I am asked where I find all these wonderful Halloween Kitty pictures. To which I answer, it is the internet--and the internet is made up of cats. Sometimes, I can give a more specific answer, like this came from the Facebook page Cat Addicts.

Is it just me? or does anyone else wonder if this particular cat lives in a house where the kitchen in done up in cow motif? And the cat does not look happy based on the tail. I sure hope that they were rewarded with a cheezburger for their trouble and discomfort.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Today is Star Wars Reading Day. Hence, the kitty dressed up as Darth Vader. This cat seems to be a really good sport (provided that this is not a photoshop) or maybe it is just that he is plotting how his Empire Strikes Back at his silly humans--I am guessing hairballs vomited into shoes.

We interrupt the parade of Halloween cat pictures for this important reality check. As we all know, we are in an election cycle--the ugly one that we have every four years--where we elect the leader of the free world, or at least that bit of it that we call the United States of America.

Now, in the debate the other night, Mitt Romney once again stated that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and its evil mascot--Big Bird--were a bunch of free loaders because they recieve government funds.

(Yes, me and my wife are part of 47% of the American population that Romney considers freeloaders--funny, I am a self-employed writer and my wife is a school teacher--obviously, we need to find different jobs where we make a lot more money and make a bigger contribution to society.)

Ok, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2011 recieved 430 million dollars. This money was split among PBS, NPR, and some other groups. I presume that some went to feeding Big Bird and the Cookie Monster--but seriously, not a lot. Sesame Street gets a lot of its funding from non-goverment sources.

If you are like me, the figure of four hundred and thirty million dollars sounds like a lot. It is--unless you are looking at the Federal Budget. So let's translate this into a figure that you might be able to understand.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting represents a mere .012 percent of the Federal Budget (that is .00012 of every dollar for the non-math people). Ok, that number does not mean much to any of us. So let's pretend that your budget was the Federal Budget. And let's say that your household budget for the month is two thousand dollars.

So what amount would you save by eliminating a .012 percent budget item? A whole 24 cents!

Yeah, we can eliminate this country's national debt by cooking Big Bird. Nice try, but this is merely a talking point of a politican who desperately does not want you to realize that he is talking about a bandage solution that does absolutely nothing.

I do not care who you vote for--just remember that you are the Big Bird that they really want to hurt.

(Public Broadcasting costs you $1.37 a year as a tax payer...if you would rather look at it from that view, according to one source.)

[The picture for this post was created for Loki's Wisdom, my humor blog that never really got off the ground. I did have to update to put the decimal in the right place--it is early or late here, depe upon your viewpoint.]

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Some of the pictures of Halloween or costumed cats I look at and think, "You people are just not trying, are you?" Then I remember how my own cats feel about costumes, and admit that even this person who put a plastic nose and eyeglass novelty item on his cat is still doing better than I am.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

For some people...and cats...everyday is Halloween. Other people...but never cats...have to work extra hard to get ready for Halloween...unless they say "Humspider." We dislike the people who say Humspider...because they tend to have a stick stuck up...well, you know.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

There is the NaBloMo going on (I am not sure if I got the initials right on that one or not)--which is basically a bunch of people doing 31 blog posts in 31 days...personally, I do not need to do that (because I have done it occasionally without the use of funny Halloween cat pictures).

There are several Halloween 31 posts things going occuring on several blogs that I follow (follow witches, get 31 posts in October--it is a natural).

On my own end, besides the 31 Days of Halloween Kitties on this blog, I was also involved in helping generate some of the photos that are going to be used on the Turtle Monkey Facebook fanpage. (Turtle Monkey is a "wiccan and pagan friendly" set of children stories by J. M. Monkie...which are going to be illustrated by me--as soon as I get my rear in gear.)

[Update: July 2013: Due to differences in sales expectations and business philosophy, in early July 2013, I ceased to be involved in the Turtle Monkey project.]

Monday, October 1, 2012

Welcome to the Second Annual 31 Days of Halloween Kitties--that magical time of year where I scour the interwebs looking for cats dressed up in silly Halloween costumes. As always, if there is something else interesting going on this month, I will blog about it...but what what could possibly be more interesting than costumed cats?! Get out your Eye of Newt flavored cat treats--it is time to give props to those brave kitties who have terrible owners with bad clothing sense and the impoliteness to subject their cats to playing dress-up.

About Me

Morgan Drake Eckstein is a novelist and occult writer living in Denver, Colorado. He writes everything from science fiction and urban fantasy to erotica. He graduated from the University of Colorado with two Bachelor degrees (History and Literary Studies). Besides writing, Morgan does photography, book cover and Tarot art, and cartooning. In his spare time, he is an officer of Bast Temple, a small local Golden Dawn lodge in Denver, Colorado (BIORC in the Inner), and writes a monthly newsletter column for the Hearthstone Community Church ("The Open Full Moon People").